Sad to say, but crisis has a way of shaping us like nothing else. Nobody wants it, but everyone knows (deep down) that difficulty is inevitable. I would never wish this kind of thing on anyone. It’s not like we run to suffering and pain. I like to believe that God also works through the good times, through the blessings and through the happy, happy. Both/and…only I don’t really want the bad parts.
If there was a book in the Bible that as a Protestant, I would have preferred to be in the Apocrypha, it would be the book of Job. Then I could portion it off as something that may be cool literature, but not actually applicable to me here and now. It’s a good story really. It would make for a good movie. A man with everything loses it all and faces the ridicule of friends and community- but against all odds he holds his head high and refuses to give up. In the end, he lives “happily ever after.” And that’s the way the best movies are written, without regard to reality and life. Laugh, cry, feel emotions and then leave the theater back to my own current reality.
I just can’t do that with the book of Job though. In fact, I can’t do that with any of the Bible. I have to read the whole story and walk out the journey just like the people did in Moses time, in Josephs time, in Jobs time and in Jesus’ time. And that walking out calls for growth and change through crisis. There really is something worse than crisis, it’s when I waste it and don’t see that God is using it to draw me closer to Him and learn to trust Him even when circumstances don’t go my way.
I’m kind of a control freak, although I’m not as freaky as I used to be. Even my wife acknowledges that although I used to get really up tight about holding onto my way, I’ve loosened the grip and realized that I am not God. Good thing…because this is not a great example as a pastor who teaches people to surrender to Jesus. Anyway…the illusion of control has been broken in my life more through crisis than anything else. When my expectations aren’t met, I realize I’m not in control. When my prayer aren’t answered in my time and in my way, I can’t control that. When God doesn’t show up the way I thought He should, who am I to control Him?
Maybe it’s control for you, or maybe it’s comfort or your expectations. I’m sure Job had some of that going on even though the Bible says he was a man without blame and feared God. After all, he was human. That’s the reason why Satan believed he had something on him. Job’s response is what amazes me though. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. (Job 1:21)” This is not anyone’s favorite memory verse. I never pulled out a card from the little “Daily Bread” box on the kitchen table that quoted this verse. I still have people who wince when we sing that refrain from Matt Redman’s song Blessed Be Your Name. Why? Because Job basically rocks our world when he says, “I realize I didn’t have anything when I started this life, and I’ll have nothing when I say goodbye to this life. It’s all yours to do what You want with it Lord. So…Praise God!” Would I be able to express this kind of trust in such as crisis situation? Can I let go of my illusion of control? Do I worship God or the circumstances?
The bottom line is, being shaped through crisis is not an easy process. Like the clay on the wheel of the potter, we’re pressed and molded and spun. And then if there are any imperfections, He starts all over again. I want to learn to surrender to what God is doing in my life now. Even if I can’t see the end or know what will come of this situation, I want to be able to trust him. Because how we respond to crisis in our life may determine everything. He’s doing something bigger and better than I realize, both in me and through me. So the next time we are facing a difficult situation, both big and small- let’s not waste it!
-Peter
